


Stuck Inside

by C1ashi1dr



Series: Team TARDIS Drabbles [13]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, It's One Of Those Fics, Meddling TARDIS, No shame, Quarantine, THE FAM - Freeform, the doc is still an idiot, the doctor is an idiot, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23521117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr
Summary: The Doctor lands in Sheffield ready to take her fam on another adventure. However, the TARDIS appears to be annoyed and has left her stranded. And the entire world seems to be on lockdown. Now the Doctor must remain in place for more than a few days (what a terror) with the Fam while the TARDIS calms down.
Relationships: Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, The Doctor & The Doctor's TARDIS, Thirteenth Doctor & Graham O'Brien, Thirteenth Doctor & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair
Series: Team TARDIS Drabbles [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671988
Comments: 12
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally succumbed to this new trope, but it's okay. I wanted to goof around a bit and this seemed like the best idea.
> 
> As for my usual disclaimers: I don't Doctor Who and I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine. Hope you enjoy!

"You've got to be kidding me," Graham said, standing in the middle of his front room. There, again, was the TARDIS, and, again, bits and pieces of one of Graham's chairs lay under it. The Doctor stumbled out, looking properly sheepish as she almost tripped on piece of the chair. "Again, Doc?"

"Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. With a flourish, she breezed past Graham and wandered further into the home, leaving her TARDIS in the middle of the front room. At least Graham wasn't expecting company. No one was expecting company, after all, and he'd thought the Doctor would have enough sense to stay away from Earth in the middle of a pandemic. He should have known. "Where's Ryan?"

"Sleeping still," Graham said, pointing out the window. "It's barely daylight out." The Doctor squinted where he pointed, face scrunching up. "Why are you here, Doc? Weren't expecting you for a while." That, at least, was true. The Fam had decided that a break from travelling would probably be the best, to get them back into the routine of their lives. Of course, that had all been tilted on its axis the moment lockdown hit, but Yaz was still very busy from what he'd been told by Ryan. She'd been by a few times to check up on them and get them anything they needed, bu other than that, he'd not seen her. 

"Thought I'd drop by, see how my Fam was," the Doctor said. She picked up an old cup of tea and sniffed it before downing the contents of the cup. Graham grimaced just watching it. "I know I was supposed to show up next week, but the TARDIS missed her mark a bit. What's going on?" 

"Thought you would know, being a time traveler and all," Graham said, taking the mug from her hands before she could cause anymore damage. At the confusion in her raised eyebrows, he clarified. "You know, the pandemic? Don't tell me you've never been to this portion of our history."

"Probably once or twice, but I can't remember everything. Two thousand years of memory stored up here, can't just pull up whatever I want." The Doctor sounded a little indignant. "But I do vaguely remember popping in at one point in here seeing the aftermath but I don't remember much of it." She shrugged as way of apology before continuing on. "I think the old girl brought me here for a reason. She could probably could sense all the worry and the stress. Maybe thought an invasion was happening or she could sense something else was wrong."

"Well, whatever it was, I'm glad you're here. Ryan should be up in a little while but feel free to help yourself to the kettle." The Doctor nodded and went bounding into the kitchen, Graham shaking his head as he watched her go. There was something about her energy that was infectious and he really was glad to see her. 

He'd just settled into the only other chair remaining (he'd have to get another two now that the TARDIS had wrecked two of them) and sipped his own mug of tea with a hum of contentment when the TARDIS started to groan and wheeze like it often did. The Doctor came tearing out of the kitchen, nearly tripping over her own feet as she did so, and reached the TARDIS just as it started to dematerialize.

"No, no, no!" She was shouting now, trying to grab the door handle to the TARDIS, pouting as her hand closed around empty air. "Come back!" 

It was too late. The TARDIS was gone and the Doctor was staring at the place where it had been, shocked, mouth open as she stared. Graham slowly got to his feet, setting his mug to the side and gently guided the Doctor back to the kitchen to finish making her tea.

"She do that often?"

"Seems more often now," the Doctor said. "When you lot first found me, she went and left me here, remember? We had to go find her..." she trailed off, lost in the memories while Graham chuckled.

"Looks like you're stuck here with us, now," he said, and she scrunched up her face. 

"Oh that's horrible," she said. "I can't sit still, that's not allowed for me." Another grimace crossed her face and she took a sip of her tea only to recoil, tongue poking out of her mouth. "Thath hot."

"It's tea, Doc, did you expect it to be cold?" Graham asked and shook his head as she looked at her tongue, eyes crossed for a moment. Then she deflated. "I'm sure the TARDIS will come back. Maybe she wanted you to stay and see what you can do."

"Dunno why she couldn't just stay here and let me do it from there." The Doctor was just like a child who got their toys taken from them, it seemed, and Graham spent most of the morning sitting in silence with her while she wandered the flat, fiddling with objects and just bursting with restless energy.

When Ryan woke up, he stumbled into the kitchen, blinking sleepily. "Grandad, did you know another one of your chairs has- oh, hey Doctor." He brightened visibly and accepted the tea that she made, spitting it out almost immediately with a disgusted grimace. "What are you doin' here?" 

"Well, I dropped by for a visit, trying to be a good friend and such and then the TARDIS took off without my permission so I'm stuck here now." As she'd spent most of the morning doing, she pouted and Ryan shook his head with a laugh.

"Picked the worst time to do it, mate," Ryan said. "But it's not so bad. Maybe I can get Yaz to drop by and then we can hang out for a little while. I'm sure the TARDIS will come back." 

"Did you do something to make it mad?" Graham interjected and the Doctor scoffed.

"Her, Graham. And no, I wasn't even working on anything when I came to pick you up. Straight from the last planet I went to." She shook her head. "She's just getting testy in her old age."

"I'll call Yaz," Ryan said. "She should be able to help keep you sane." 

The Doctor squawked in protest and scrambled to chase after him as Ryan ran out of the kitchen, Graham trailing behind, a mixture of amusement and fond annoyance clouding his chest.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor isn't coping well with quarantine....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got a bit angsty at the end so oof but there's a happy ending. Probably not gonna do a third part even though it's left open just because I wanna close the chapter on this one. Hope you enjoy!

It had been a little over 24 hours and the O'Brien household was in complete disarray due only to the presence of the excitable alien currently sitting on the floor of the sitting room, cradling a handful of puzzle pieces in her hands. After Ryan had disappeared to talk to Yaz, the Doctor had taken to rushing about, straightening objects and dusting the tops of tables. She moved so quickly that Graham could barely see her move, zipping about from one side of the room to another, white rag in hand while she muttered under her breath.

She'd finished the entire flat in the first hour and had stood, practically vibrating in the kitchen before Graham ushered her off to do some other meaningless task. The Doctor didn't seem to mind it, not at first. She organized their whole DVD collection chronologically by release date (that had taken two hours itself because she kept stopping to talk about her experiences with this director or this actor) and then sorted all the plates and such in the kitchen by color, material, and taste. Graham didn't have enough cupboards in the end that she'd had to condense it down, but Graham never wanted to know the different tastes of his cookware.

That was when things had begun to go wrong, because Ryan had finally emerged from his room, with news about the pandemic and the announcement that Yaz would be making her way over that evening with groceries to see the Doctor. The Doctor had been sitting on the floor, ready to begin her next project when he came in. 

"Ryan!" she'd exclaimed the moment she looked up at him. "Can you give me a hand with this?"

"What is it?" Ryan asked. Smart lad, it was always good to know that he'd gotten a little bit of sense, at least when it came to the Doctor.

"I'm gonna rewire your streaming devices so you can pick up things from across the galaxy," the Doctor said. "Need a hand, though, shouldn't be anything too dangerous, trust me." 

And though it seemed like a horrible idea to Graham, they did trust the Doctor, so Ryan sat cross-legged next to her, ready to do whatever the Doctor needed him to do. Graham should have remained to supervise, but he went off to go re-learn the layout of his kitchen. Ryan would be fine there, he could keep an eye on the Doctor (as much as the Doctor needed keeping an eye on) and the flat was silent apart from the low murmurs from the next room.

Graham relished the quiet and took his time until a loud snap and yelp came from the next room. The lights above his head dimmed for a moment before returning to normal, but the voices in the next room were raised, one even sounding frantic. Graham sighed. He should have expected it from the two of them.

"What's happened now?" he asked, looking into the next room. Both Ryan and the Doctor were holding their hands close to their chest, the Doctor's a bright red and already starting to blister. "Doc..."

"I know, I know, I said it wouldn't be dangerous but it wasn't supposed to be," the Doctor said, voice dropping into petulance. "I didn't mean for that to happen." The crestfallen look on her face made Graham's heart sink a bit. She was doing her best, sitting still and making herself useful for all of this. She wasn't used to it, after all.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Graham said. "C'mon. Ryan, clean this up, if you will." He led the Doctor to where they kept their first aid equipment. "You make a habit of burning your hands, then?" He vaguely remembered Ryan mention something about ovens and plastic chip cookies one morning, but he couldn't be certain. The Doctor had the sense to look a bit chagrined as she let cool water run over the burns on her hands.

"Wiring's always a bit tricky," she said. "Never had good luck with it, but I'm getting much better." 

Graham prepared the plasters and took her hand out from under the water when he was ready. It took only a few moments to get her patched up, but the Doctor seemed to have lost a lot of energy already. She didn't bounce back into the sitting room, instead choosing to just walk, and when she got there, she sat down on the only chair left in the room, sitting on her hands.

Only a few hours into quarantine with the Doctor and she'd already hurt herself and probably made Netflix unavailable to them. It was going to be a long few weeks.

She didn't move much for the rest of the day, bouncing to her feet when Graham offered lunch. It was just a few sandwiches, but she proceeded to do an entire lecture about a species of alien that apparently used sandwiches as their most prized food, a delicacy saved only for the highest holidays, and even then only for the rich. Graham didn't half believe her, but it was good to hear her talking again. 

Yaz appeared at the door in early afternoon, a bag of groceries in hand. The Doctor scrambled up from where she'd been working on another puzzle (well, 'another' was used loosely as she'd already done most of the puzzles in the house and had made her way back around) and she took the bag with a small grunt of effort and a "Hiya, Yaz!" That fell on the side of far too chipper.

They didn't say anything as she put the groceries away, moving across the kitchen with an ungraceful speed that had Yaz snickering into her hand. Then she looked at Graham, leaning on the counter. "You been goin' insane with her here?" she asked and Graham chuckled.

"You don't know the half of it. I think I need a nap after keeping her in line for a few hours. Think you can distract her?"

"Oh yeah," Yaz said. "That's my skill, distracting the Doctor. We'll find something to do that doesn't involve her getting hurt." 

~~~~~~~~~

Yaz shouldn't have spoken so quickly. She thought she could keep the Doctor from hurting herself anymore than she already was but that involved actually talking to the Doctor. The Doctor, who could talk so much but say nothing at all. It was frustrating to say the least especially when all she wanted to do was sit down and talk to the Doctor. Properly talk, not just listen to her ramble on and on about sandwich aliens. 

"What about you, Doctor?" she asked eventually, cutting straight through the rambling. The Doctor started, confused. "You talk about all these other aliens all the time. What about you? What's your home like?

"Ah, you know," the Doctor gave a non-committal shrug, looking away from Yaz's face for the first time that evening. Before she did so, Yaz could catch a hint of a glimpse of the grief settling over the Doctor like a smothering cloud. "Homey. Not like-"

"Tell me about it? Like properly tell me, don't just say some nothing statements and go back to rambling about other planets."

"Why d'you lot care so much about it? Just where I live, I don't go there anymore. I'm out here traveling with you all the time,>" She looked vaguely annoyed, but Yaz knew it was probably just because she didn't want the questions. 

"Well, I'll get it out of you eventually, believe me," Yaz said.

"I look forward to your efforts, Yasmin Khan." The Doctor's cocky grin wasn't as bright as it normally was, but it was a start. That was all Yaz could hope for at the moment.

~~~~~~~

Two days had passed and the Doctor was going completely mad. She'd already organized the whole house three times over, the books, the DVDs, the plates, the board games. Nothing had escaped her constant fiddling but it wasn't enough. Her mind was still racing and she had all hours of the evening to sit and think and try to be quiet as the other humans slept. Yaz appeared every evening, sometimes with food, sometimes with a new board game, but she only hung about for a few hours before heading back to her family's flat. There just wasn't anything for the Doctor to do.

She knew she was probably making Graham and Ryan go mad along with her and she really didn't mean for it to happen but she couldn't help it. Staying still had never been good for her, no matter what body she was in. Just the briefest of looks back through her previous bodies' memories, she had never been able to keep still and take the slow path with the rest of the universe. She was a Time Lord, she didn't have use for the daily dredge of time.

"Doc, I swear, if you go to organize the plates again, I'm banning you from the kitchen," Graham said on the evening of the third day. "Yaz should be here soon and I told her to bring another board game, if you can sit still for that long I'm sure you'll be fine."

The Doctor huffed in annoyance. While she loved seeing Yaz, she really did, the human deemed it her duty to keep asking the Doctor about her home. There was no TARDIS to tinker with, no crisis to avert so she blatantly ignored the questions or got a bit snappish. She felt bad, she really did, but there was only so much questioning she could take before she got annoyed at it.

When Yaz showed up that evening, the Doctor grinned as brightly as she could and snatched the board game from her hands before Yaz could even properly greet her. The air was tense, moreso than usual, but the Fam gathered at the table to play. It was all going well, it really was. The game wasn't fun, but the Doctor was enjoying her time with the Fam, laughing and teasing each other when Yaz asked another question.

"You got games like this at home, Doctor?"

The Doctor could practically feel herself shut down, not even giving an answer as she continued on. It went on like this for a few moments, Yaz trying her best to get the Doctor to talk about Gallifrey (not that she knew the name of the planet) and the Doctor staying resolutely silent. The air grew thick with tension the further and further on they went until the Doctor couldn't take it anymore.

"Just stop asking questions, Yaz!" she snapped. "If I haven't told ya anything else before, I'm not gonna tell ya now."

"Why not, Doctor?" Yaz asked. "Why can't you just tell us some little things about your home, what your people are like. We know nothing about you."

"You know me, isn't that enough?" 

"It's really not," Yaz said. The air crackled with the words and the Doctor fought to keep her hurt from showing. 

"I'm getting some air." The declaration was terse, bordering on angry and the Doctor pushed away from the table violently. She needed to get out the house, to breathe. Her hearts were racing in her chest, faster and faster until she was sure they would come flying out of her chest. The Doctor moved quickly, used thousands of years of running to place as much distance between her and her Fam as she could, running down the street until she staggered into a park, doubled over, trying to catch her breath.

She'd yelled at Yaz. Yelled at all of them, really, but focused it at Yaz. She felt awful, guilt burning holes into her as she collapsed on the grass. Too many questions, too much time spent sitting still...she never should have started travelling again. She sat there for eternity, feeling her hearts slowly return to their normal beat and her thoughts quit racing quite so fast. Perhaps it would be before for her to find another place to stay for a little while.

"There she is!" Graham's yell was unexpected, but not unwelcome and, within moments, the Fam were laying on the grass next to her, staring up at the slowly dimming sky. They were silent for a long time until Ryan spoke.

"That game was rubbish," he said. "Y'need to pick a better one next time, Yaz."

Just a few words, but it was enough to release the last of the nervous tension in the Doctor. Of course there would be a next time. She'd have to properly apologize when they weren't laying out in the open air, but she could do it.

"Quarantine with the Fam," she said. "Not too bad." 

It was Graham who ushered them back so that they wouldn't get in trouble, and Yaz left soon after with a promise to bring a better game next time, leaving the Doctor alone to sleep on the sofa once more. The TARDIS would come back eventually, she always would, but the Doctor knew that as long as she had her Fam, it would all be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a kudo or a comment, it makes my day.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor is entering her third week of quarantine when Yaz shows up one morning, grabbing her hand and telling her to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back by not really popular demand. I felt I needed to properly wrap this up, so here is the actual final part. As usual, I don't own Doctor Who and all mistakes made are mine.

Two weeks of quarantine passed with the tension between the Fam growing less and less every single day. The Doctor had made her apologies to Yaz, who in turn had continued to bring (admittedly awful) board games each evening. It became a routine of sorts. Graham and Ryan adjusted their schedules a bit around the Doctor, mostly making room in case she caused an explosion with the toaster (specifically, which had occurred twice) and various other appliances around the house. It was still impossible to get Netflix on the TV, but the Doctor only shrugged when it was brought up.

Even the Doctor herself had settled into a routine with a little miniature schedule she'd taped to the side of the couch where she slept. The only spare room in the home, what had once been an office for Grace and had since been abandoned by the rest of the family in a matter of respect. The Doctor had taken to sitting on the floor of the room, fiddling with bits and pieces of old tech that she'd found lying about. Old gaming consoles, an old TV that she found, an appliance or two, all found their way apart and on the floor. It kept the Doctor sane and out of the way of Graham and Ryan.

So on Tuesday of the third week, she'd just taken her place on the floor, a little mopey about it all, really just missing the reassuring presence of the TARDIS, it was a surprise that a knock sounded at the door. She would have left Graham to take care of it, but he was occupied with something on the telly and Ryan had nipped out to the shops for some essentials. She got to her feet, setting aside an old blender that she'd found in the back of a cupboard. The Doctor made the attempt to be happy and bouncy as she walked to the door, but it was becoming more and more of a struggle. Each day that passed was making it harder to keep up the persona that her Fam were used to.

She tugged open the door, startled to see Yaz standing there, holding her mobile in one hand, foot tapping against the floor. There was a moment of calm after the Doctor opened the door before Yaz grabbed her hands, tugging her out the door. There was a wide grin on her face, one that could have rivaled one of the Doctor's almost a month ago.It made a similar grin break out across the Doctor's face and she found something beginning to swirl in her chest. Excitement? Anticipation?Something had changed.

"Graham!" Yaz shouted into the house, not even bothering to make the few steps to cross the threshold. "We're going somewhere, c'mon!" Then they were running, the Doctor's limbs flailing out behind her. This was one of the few times their roles were reversed, Yaz pulling the Doctor behind her. It felt strange, but was enough to make a laugh bubble up in her.

They ran and ran and ran across Sheffield, the Doctor finding that her legs were starting to ache dully. She was built for short, quick sprints, not long extended runs. 

"Not far now!" Yaz shouted behind her as though she could read the Doctor's thoughts. "Staying at home has really got you out of shape." The teasing lilt in her voice reduced the sting, but the Doctor still pouted. It was more for the laugh that Yaz gave, and then they were running again. They rounded a corner, one of dozens (the Doctor had no idea where they were in Sheffield anymore, just that Yaz knew where she was going and this probably would have been quicker in a car than on foot) and there, sitting on the sidewalk of the opposite street, stood the TARDIS, bright in all her glory. 

The Doctor's legs carried her faster than she thought she could ever go. She was most likely a blonde blur racing down a street, but she didn't care because her TARDIS came back. She hit the wood hard, the impact rattling her bones as she gripped the sides of the box in a close approximation to a hug. Her head slammed against the middle column, but she didn't care. The Doctor remained that way for a long moment, clinging to the outside of the TARDIS like it was going to leave any second. Finally, she moved her hands to the door handle, holding it gently.

"Hey there, old girl," the Doctor said quietly, aware of Ryan's presence near the box, Yaz joining him. "You really left me in a bind here, I've been going crazy." The box hummed quietly under her, and that gentle nudge at the back of her head filled her with warmth and relief. "I don't have my key, I wasn't expecting you to be here-" The door clicked open under her fingers. "Oh, you're brilliant. I'm not even mad at you anymore."

She slipped into the TARDIS and it really was coming home. She dashed up to the console, heard Ryan and Yaz enter behind her as she checked over the controls, making sure that her time ship was still operational. Then she turned around, facing the now three humans in the TARDIS. The Doctor flung her arms open.

"Welcome back, Team TARDIS!" she exclaimed. "I told you she would come back, just needed to give her time." She patted the console and relished in the hum she got in return. "I think she missed me just as much as I missed her."

The Fam looked slightly confused, but it was alright, because Yaz was looking quite proud of herself. "Spotted her when I was on patrol," she said. "Knew the moment I got off shift this morning that I needed to come and get you Figured you didn't know she was here."

"Nope," the Doctor said, popping the p. "But she's here now and I'm back. So what do you reckon, Fam? The rest of time and space during quarantine?" 

They each made a half-hearted attempt at a protest, but the Doctor could see that look in their eyes. Yaz had already shrugged off her jacket and was throwing it somewhere, Ryan had circled around the console and Graham was shaking his head.

"Off we go then," the Doctor said, turning back to the console. "Alright old girl, throw your best at us." She began the take-off sequence that the TARDIS jolted under their feet, giving its customary whistling groan as, for the first time in weeks, the Doctor left Sheffield and returned to her place in the universe with the Fam at her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I swear this is actually the last part and there should be new Team TARDIS material in the coming days. Feel free to leave a comment or a kudos, it always makes my day.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm considering making this a two parter, so let me know if you want a second part. it would probably just involve the Doctor being very chaotic while the Fam try and keep her and themselves sane during self-isolation.


End file.
